School Holiday Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Cleaning Tips

Keeping your house clean can be a battle every week – especially if you have children, it’s a constant struggle and you probably feel like no one is appreciative of what you do and the time it takes. During the school holidays, it is harder, you’ve just cleaned when the dog walks in with muddy paws or the kids haven’t made their bed – don’t panic!

Here are some tips for not only keeping the house tidy during the school holidays, but all year around and without having to call in house cleaners!

If the washing is piling up do a load of washing every morning. Pop a load of washing on first thing in the morning and while you are having breakfast pop them in the clothes dryer. If you have a regular time in the morning each morning to do your washing, it will become part of your routine and less of a chore.

Take your shoes off when you come inside, if you find you have slippery wet floors or muddy and dirty carpets as soon as you take your shoes off pop on some nice comfy slippers instead, ask everyone to do this as it can save you hours of cleaning time every month.

Always wipe down your worktops every evening. A quick wipe down will prevent food, grime and dirt from sticking.

Get rid of the things you don’t need. Keeping the house tidy is harder if you have a lot of clutter around that you need to move, dust or wipe over every time. Get rid of things you don’t need and donate them to charity, not only will it make you feel good, you’ll have a lot less to move around each week when you clean.

Organise your ironing, if you have a lot of ironing to do – organise it all into piles depending on the type of fabric, this way when you do your ironing you won’t have to keep changing the setting on your iron. You can also prioritise what needs to be ironed first – work and school clothes and then the less important items.

Always wash up after each meal – do your washing up as you go, rather than letting dirty cutlery and plates build up.

You would be surprised how many people leave dirty muddy shoes on the carpet to dry, always put some newspaper down on the floor to protect your carpet

Keep your home smelling nice and inviting (especially if you have pets) by using a good quality air freshener, it can help mask smells and odours

Encourage your children to keep their mess tidy – especially during the school holidays. Make their bed, keep their room clean, and encourage them to pick up/clean up after themselves, to put toys away, dirty washing in the laundry etc. It might sound like a lot of work, but it can be easier than you think. Organise daily inspections where you award your child a small prize for keeping their room neat and tidy. Not only are you teaching your child, you are also giving yourself a little less work to do.

Buy a dedicated *dirty washing basket* this will help save you time if you are looking for some old socks or pants.

Re-arrange your lounge cushions, it will only take a few seconds but it’s a great way to ensure your lounge always looks neat and tidy.

6 Home Cleaning Tricks

Here are some cleaning tricks which you can apply during school holiday

Do you have any coffee stains? A simple soak in baking soda will clean your cups up and have them back looking like new.

Storage boxes are your new best friend! Storage boxes are a great way to keep your home neat and tidy on a daily basis. Use them to store newspapers and magazines, DVD’s, toys and other items that can clutter up your home.

Sanitise your sponges. Did you know if you pop them in your dishwasher you can get rid of most of the germs that live on your cleaning sponges.

If you have a dirty oven that has been *annoying* you, during the school holidays is a great time to remove grease from your oven for good…. Fill a bowl with half a cup of ammonia and place it into a cold oven, let it sit overnight and in the morning simply wipe away all that baked on grease and grime.

Use vinegar to clean your toilet and sinks, vinegar is a powerful cleaner that doesn’t cost a lot and it will keep everything clean and shiny.

If you have leather seats or a leather lounge, while it sounds strange, wipe over some of your leather each day with shoe polish to keep your leather shiny and in good condition.